The Ghost of Nero (TTT episode)
Summary After escaping from Mullins, Arizona from the previous episode, Tony Newman and Doug Phillips are sent to an area where, upon looking at many nearby armed troops swarming the area, they figure they are witnessing World War I. Once they hear the telltale sounds of dropping bombs, they hightail it into a nearby open cavern, which falling debris from a nearby bomb knocks them unconscious. The view changes to the nearby crypt of Roman emperor Nero, which opens up by an unseen force, a sword emerges, and it moves totally on its own. Once Newman and Phillips awaken, they hear German troops enter the cavern, which they hide from one of the servicemen. However, upon entering Nero’s tomb, the sword stabs the officer to death. Newman and Phillips flee, finding a secret passage that leads to a villa, where they are confronted by the owner Count Enrico Galba. The villa is right between the German and Italian armies, which the Germans want to use the villa as a stronghold. Meanwhile, Project Tic-Toc is having a lot of problems with an unseen force that is interfering with trying to transport back Newman and Phillips. Due to time running out—as the villa is set to be destroyed within hours—they enlist in the aid of a person who has knowledge of the paranormal, as they ascertain that the ghost of Nero is indeed posing a threat by possessing one of the German guards, then Newman. Newman, Phillips and Galba must find a way to escape the villa before it is destroyed and before they get killed by Nero’s ghost or the Germans. Background information/trivia *This was the first time ever during the series that a paranormal element was brought into the show; aside from only one episode that took place in the future, all previous episodes up to this point were based on historical events without any kind of paranormal subject tied to them. *Also for the first time ever, a power surge in the form of one million volts is sent from Project Tic-Toc through the Time Tunnel to try to rid Newman of the ghost of Nero. Additionally, it is revealed that Project Tic-Toc personnel have flameguns as a weapon, as Lt. General Heywood Kirk orders them to use the guns to get Nero’s ghost back into the Time Tunnel (after it had been transported to the base and started wreaking havoc), as the paranormal person that is brought to the base says that poltergeists could be repelled by torches. *With Project Tic-Toc having trouble with the “unseen force” (i.e. the ghost of Nero), although there is very little, if not any scientific evidence of spirits existing in real life, there is a popular theory behind real-life paranormal investigations in regards to electrical interference that is caused by spirits, as paranormal teams have reported energy from equipment they use (digital recorders, K2 meters, camcorders, etc.) being totally drained during episodes, even with either brand new or freshly charged batteries being brought to investigated places. Cast *James Darren as Dr. Tony Newman *Robert Colbert as Dr. Doug Phillips *Lee Meriwether as Dr. Ann MacGregor *John Zaremba as Dr. Raymond Swain *Whit Bissell as Lt. General Heywood Kirk *Eduardo Ciannelli as Count Enrico Galba *Gunnar Hellström as Major Neistadt *John Hoyt as Dr. Steinholtz *Richard Jaeckel as Sgt. Mueller Links The episode can be seen at hulu.com on The Time Tunnel channel Category:The Time Tunnel episodes